Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the annual cost to the National Health Service of litigation in 2010–11, 2011–12, and 2012–13; and what was the amount paid in medical insurance by the National Health Service in the same years.

The Department does not hold complete information on this centrally, as each National Health Service body is responsible for handling its own litigation except where they have the claims processed under the statutory NHS indemnity schemes, which are administered by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHS LA) on behalf of the Secretary of State.

However, the vast majority of litigation claims against the NHS are handled by the NHS LA, and costs met from its schemes. The NHS LA is mainly funded from contributions by member NHS bodies. The balance is met by the Department.

The following table shows the expenditure incurred by the NHS LA in the years in question.

Source: NHS LA - July 2014